A Blog Around The Clock

Big Fossil 'Raptor' Tracks Show Group Behavior:

Everyone knows that "raptor" dinosaurs walked with their deadly sickle-shaped foot claws held off the ground and that they moved in packs ... right? After all, it was in "Jurassic Park." But until now, there was no direct evidence of either of these things. Now, an international team of Chinese, British, American and Japanese paleontologists reported fossilized footprints made by two different kinds of "raptors" from 120 million year old rocks in Shandong Province, China.

Resistance To Thoughts Of Chocolate Is Futile:

A research project carried out by a University of Hertfordshire academic has found that thought suppression can lead people to engage in the very behaviour they are trying to avoid. It also found that men who think about chocolate end up eating more of it than women who have the same thoughts.

Primates: Extinction Threat Growing For Mankind's Closest Living Relatives:

Mankind's closest living relatives -- the world's apes, monkeys, lemurs and other primates -- are under unprecedented threat from destruction of tropical forests, illegal wildlife trade and commercial bushmeat hunting, with 29 percent of all species in danger of going extinct, according to a new report.

Why Do Autumn Leaves Turn Red? Soil May Dictate Fall Colors:

Soils may dictate the array of fall colors as much as the trees rooted in them, according to a forest survey out of North Carolina.

Social Standing Influences Elephant Movement:

When resources are scarce, who you know and where you're positioned on the social totem pole affects how far you'll go to search for food. At least that's the case with African elephants, according to a study led by ecologists at the University of California, Berkeley, who collaborated with researchers at Save the Elephants, a non-profit research organization based in Kenya, and at the University of Oxford in England.

Longest Living Animal? Clam -- 400 Years Old -- Found In Icelandic Waters:

A clam dredged from Icelandic waters had lived for 400 years - is this the longest-lived animal known to science?